Former Ole Miss Rebel hits first career MLB home run

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A former Ole Miss Rebel hit his first career home run in the MLB in his debut season as a member of the defending World Series champs.

Tuesday, former Ole Miss shortstop and infielder for the Houston Astros Grae Kessinger celebrated the Fourth of July with his own version of fireworks, going yard over the left-center field wall inside of Minute Maid Park to give Houston an early lead. The Astros went on to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-1.

First home run for the rookie. pic.twitter.com/v60dGZGdHB
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 4, 2023

In 14 career games, the Oxford, Mississippi native has recorded a .214 batting average and has a perfect fielding percentage thus far. Kessinger recorded his first MLB hit on June 11.

As a Rebel, Kessinger batted .283 at the plate while recording 189 hits, 17 home runs, and 103 RBIs and was a key member of the 2017-2018 SEC Tournament Championship winning team.

He was drafted by the Astros’ organization in 2019 in the second round.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.